An American Eagle passenger jet was forced to make an emergency landing at La Guardia Airport Wednesday afternoon when the pilot reported smoke coming from within the cockpit, sources said.
The Embraer jet with 46 passengers aboard took off for Knoxville, Tenn., at about 3 p.m., but quickly ran into trouble, the sources said.
The pilot reported a heavy smoke condition and after turning the aircraft around, he was able to land safely at 3:20 p.m. without incident on runway 22, the sources said.
The plane was met by PAPD cops assigned to the Crash Fire Rescue Unit who helped evacuate the passengers and at least three crew members.
One passenger suffered a minor injury, but declined medical attention, a source said.
PAPD personnel were assessing the situation following the landing and it was not immediately clear what had caused the smoke problem.